


Please Wake Up

by Emme2589



Series: Very Gay "Randall Lives" AU [8]
Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance, rated t for scary situations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:48:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24588616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emme2589/pseuds/Emme2589
Summary: Hershel Layton is attacked by a mysterious stranger, and he spends three months in a coma.As you can imagine, Randall doesn't take this very well.
Relationships: Randall Ascot/Hershel Layton
Series: Very Gay "Randall Lives" AU [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1307387
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	Please Wake Up

Randall closed the door and fell over the couch. What an exhausting day. He was still covered in dirt and dust that had made him sneeze multiple times, and still no sign of bones aside from one incomplete femur. Why was this job so hard when the Azran weren't involved?

He looked up at the clock. Seven thirty. Hershel's jacket was missing from the hatstand, so he was running a bit late home from the university. No big deal. He could certainly appreciate an empty house sometimes.

He took an hour-long nap before getting up to shower. He changed into comfier clothes, then he gathered up the dirty clothes from around the house and started the laundry machine. He found a note from Flora on the fridge that said she and Aurora would be out with Luke for the evening, explaining the abnormally quiet house. He vacuumed the entryway and dusted off the couches, then he threw a couple logs into the fireplace and lit it. It cast a warm glow over the room.

Randall sat down to rest before looking at the clock again. 9:24 pm. That was a little worrying, but still not terrible. If Hershel ran much later, he would probably find a payphone to let him know where he was. That was Randall's rule for everyone in the house, and they were fairly good at remembering. Hershel could have easily just blanked on the right bus, or taken a detour to grab something from the store and lost track of time.

Randall threw away some rotten apples in the fruit bowl, went through the mail they'd gotten that day, and received a call from Aurora, who said that they would be staying over at Clark and Brenda's house. Randall washed the few dirty dishes in the sink, then he turned on some cheesy soap opera on the telly to watch in the background before getting out his notes to go over them. By the time they were decently legible, he checked the clock one more time.

11:50.

That was the final straw. Something had gone horribly wrong and Hershel was in danger. Randall got up from the couch, took his umbrella and left.

He knew the path Hershel always took from the bus stop to the house, so he started there. The buses didn't run past midnight, so if he wasn't on this path and Randall couldn't find any evidence that Hershel had been on the bus that day, he would call the police. He was prepared to scold this man for making him worry so much, his face flushed as he walked. A distant thunder cracking in the distance reminded him to open his umbrella.

He was almost to the bus stop when he saw a crumpled umbrella, tossed in a nearby trash can between two buildings. The handle was a dark polished ebony wood, and the fabric was brown with orange trim.

It was Hershel's.

Randall ducked into the alleyway. The rain had started to really pick up by now. He waded through puddles of drained water from the rooftops, his socks and pants soaked through. Close to the back of both buildings was a figure, laying on his stomach, an empty briefcase beside him. The brown high-collared jacket and tall top hat were unmistakable.

"Hershel!" Randall dropped his umbrella, turning him over so he was laying on his back. His skin was freezing cold as he was drenched in rainwater, but he was breathing, and there was a pulse, "Hershel, are you okay!? Wake up! Answer me!"

He was also covered in bruises. In particular, a huge bump was forming on the back of his head, as if someone had taken a bat to it. His knuckles had blood on them. His shirt and jacket were torn.

"Hershel!" this was no good. Hershel was alive, but his breathing was shallow, and his pulse was faint, "Don't worry! I'll get you out of here!"

He lifted Hershel so he was carrying him bridal-style, flinching back from the cold. He ran from the alley, scanning the street for any sign of a payphone. He set Hershel down to get the door open, then he dragged both of them inside, away from the rain.

He dialed the number he feared he'd always need, waiting for the voice that would send help.

_"Nine nine nine, what's your emergency?"_

***

It had been three months. Hershel was stable by the time they made it to the hospital, but the prognosis was grim. He had been hit so hard that his brain was damaged, so someone had knocked him into a coma. He still had yet to wake up.

Everybody tried to visit Hershel every day, except for Thursday. That's when they knew Randall wanted to be there alone. Randall was there every day, fully accepting the fact that Hershel may simply never wake up. He didn't care, though. As long as it took, even if it took the rest of their lives, he would wait.

"Hey, Hersh." he left the door ajar, "I brought flowers this time. Carnations. I'm sure you'll let me know later if you're allergic."

He set the vase he had carried with him on the table by the window, plastic so it wouldn't break, then he put his bouquet in it, made of both pink and red carnations. He took a paper cup to fill it with water at the sink, then he poured it into the vase.

"There." Randall stepped back to admire his work, "That looks nice, doesn't it?"

He turned towards the figure in the bed. Predictably, Hershel did not respond. He just continued to lay still, trapped in a dreamless sleep.

Randall sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. The heartbeat monitor was the only sound in the room.

"I don't know if you can hear me in there." Randall took Hershel's hand, felt his pulse. There was every indication that he was alive, and yet he didn't stir, "It feels kind of crazy, right? Just talking to someone who I know can't answer. I just...I can't handle the idea that you aren't there. I know some coma patients can hear everything. I hope you're one of them. Maybe that's why I keep talking."

He ran a thumb over the back of Hershel's hand. The bruises had mostly healed, and his brain scans returned normal. Everything told them that he should wake up on his own, but still, he responded to nothing.

"Luke's started school again. I guess he was in school anyway last you knew, but it's been awhile since then. Flora moved back to Saint Mystere for the time being. She says she'll visit next month. Aurora visited you yesterday, but you weren't, um, awake." Randall took a deep breath. The room smelled like carnations, "You've healed almost perfectly. Why won't you wake up? I wonder if that's nice. Just living in minimal conditions, the world dark around you. I don't know. Coma patients don't dream, do they?"

He glanced at Hershel's vitals. They were normal.

"Do you dream about me?" he huffed out a laugh, "Nah. Don't be narcissistic, Randall. It was probably nice for him to get a break from you."

He blinked, and a tear fell down his cheek.

"Why?" Randall scooted closer to Hershel, "You're fine. Your vitals are normal. Why will you still not wake up?"

Hershel didn't reply. Randall tugged on his hair in frustration, resting his forehead on Hershel's chest.

_"Please."_ Randall choked back a sob, _"I miss you so much. I don't want to live without you, Hershel. Please wake up. Please."_

The sun began to set, and the sky turned red and orange. Randall pressed his ear to Hershel's chest. His heartbeat was strong and steady. He began to relax, his arms on the mattress on either side of Hershel's torso.

He only stiffened when he felt someone running their fingers through his hair.

"Hershel?" Randall looked up.

Hershel's eyes were open.

He smiled warmly, "Hello, Randall."

"Hershel!" Randall squeezed him tight, "Hershel! You're awake!"

"Ack!" Hershel laughed as he reciprocated the hug, "How long was I asleep?"

"Three months!" Randall kissed his cheek, "God, Hersh! Don't scare me like that! I was convinced you'd be asleep forever!"

"I'm sorry for scaring you." Hershel adjusted his hat, pleased it was still there, "Wait, my notes! What happened to my notes?"

"Your notes?"

"Didn't I have a briefcase of notes wherever I was found?"

"It was empty."

Hershel looked up at the ceiling, "Oh."

"Who cares about the notes, Hersh? We can find them again." Randall snuggled into him, "I have you back. That's all I care about right now. How much did you hear when you were sleeping?"

Hershel placed his hand on Randall's back, "I heard that you brought me flowers."

"Well that's not fair! You can see them and smell them! Who else would bring you flowers?"

"I heard that Luke went back to school and Flora went back to Saint Mystere."

"Yeah, alright, I said that."

Hershel took a sniff of the carnations, staring off at the blank wall.

"I heard you say 'please wake up'."

Randall glanced up at him, not moving his head from the crook of Hershel's neck.

"I heard you crying." Hershel avoided Randall's gaze, "You said, 'I don't want to live without you'. That's when I realized I was in a coma. At that point, it just felt as though I were waking up from a long sleep. I was convinced I was simply at home in bed."

Randall sat up, "You're saying I helped you wake up?"

"Well, you told me my vitals were normal. There was no reason for me to stay asleep." Hershel scratched his head beneath the hat, "I suppose at some point, I lapsed back into normal sleep and nobody noticed?"

"Well, whatever happened, I'm so glad to see you awake."

Randall looked behind him, seeing they were indeed alone, and then gave Hershel a kiss on the lips. When they broke away, he rested their foreheads together.

"I missed you so much. Don't ever do that to me again."

Hershel relaxed in Randall's hold, "I'll try."

The sun disappeared until the world was shrouded in darkness, and neither of them felt like moving until the inevitable time a nurse discovered that he was awake.

***


End file.
